Pirates Fall to Rutgers in Garden State Hardwood Classic on Buzzer Beater

Saturday, December 14

Piscataway, N.J.

3 p.m.

Seton Hall University

5-6,0-0Big East

Rutgers

7-4,1-1Big Ten

Seton Hall

Rutgers

Photo by: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Spo

Pirates Fall to Rutgers in Garden State Hardwood Classic on Buzzer Beater

12/14/2024 6:19:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Despite late heroics from Isaiah Coleman, the Seton Hall men's basketball team fell to Rutgers, 66-63, on a buzzer-beater in the Garden State Hardwood Classic.

Isaiah Coleman led the Pirates (5-6) with 15 points (5-of-14 from the field), while Emmanuel Okorafor registered a career-high ten rebounds. The Scarlet Knights (7-4) were powered by two 20+ point games from Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper, while the Pirates struggled from beyond the arc (5-9, 26.3%).

How It Happened
In the opening salvo between the two New Jersey programs, the Pirates drew first blood with a Prince Aligbe jumper in the paint to go up 2-0 with 19:08 remaining in the half. The Scarlet Knights immediately countered with a quick three, but the Pirates clamped down on a Rutgers offense lead by Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey. The Hall collected six steals and two blocks, holding the home side below seven for a prolonged period. On offense, the Pirates turned their strong defense into easy buckets. While no Pirate scored more than three points during this stretch, The Hall took advantage of the Scarlet Knights' lacking offense. Yacine Toumi capped off the Pirates 12-3 run with a deep three-pointer with 10:40 left on the clock, handing the Pirates a 14-6 lead near the midway point of the opening half.

Chaunce head tap🤯

Up at the half. Time to finish. #DDD pic.twitter.com/CmBlekKDPn
— Seton Hall Men's Basketball (@SetonHallMBB) December 14, 2024

Rutgers would begin to find their way on the offensive end, cutting the Pirates lead to three, 16-13, with 8:27 left on the clock. However, Garwey Dual and Chaunce Jenkins would respond to the Knights' crusade. Jenkins added four points on a 6-2 run to expand the Pirates' lead back to 7, 22-15, with 6:38 left before the halftime break.

As the halftime approached, both teams began trading baskets in search of a run that would never come for either side. While Ace Bailey took the driver's seat for Rutgers, a pair of Pirates stepped up to protect The Hall's lead. Scotty Middleton and Dylan Addae-Wusu would contribute five and four points, respectively, to send the Pirates into the break with a 33-27 lead.

As the second half began, The Hall continued to the momentum they had in the first half. Emmanuel Okorafor shifted around the paint to find four easy points around the basket as the Pirates grew their lead back to 10, 41-31, with 16:33 remaining in the game. Powered by their home crowd, Rutgers would not go away quietly, as the Scarlet Knights reduced the Pirates lead to 3, 43-40, with under 14 minutes left in the game.

The tension in this Garden State clash only continued to rise, as Rutgers reclaimed the lead, 46-45, with 10:48 remaining for the fist time since the early stages of the game. Yacine Toumi responded to the Scarlet Knights' run, netting a jumper to reclaim the lead, 47-46, with 9:42 on the clock. As the minutes began to wane, both sides began searching for the final blow, but neither school could find one. However, with 3:11 remaining, an Ace Bailey three put Rutgers up 59-57, putting pressure on the Pirates to respond.

As the clocked ticked under a minute, Rutgers expanded their lead to four, 63-59, with 51 seconds remaining in the game. With the pressure squarely on the Pirates, they found their way back with a chance to win in the waning moments. After Dylan Harper missed a pair of free throws, Isaiah Coleman converted an offensive rebound to draw the Pirates within two, 63-61, with 19 seconds left. After Rutgers missed another two more free throws, The Hall drove into the paint and Isaiah Coleman drove fought for another offensive rebound among a melee of blue and scarlet jerseys. After Coleman came away with the ball and drew a foul on his shot attempt, he went to the line with a chance of equalizing the game with six seconds remaining. In a tense Jersey Mike's Arena, he drained both free throws, drawing the game even at 63-63 with six seconds sitting on the clock.

As the Pirates sat on the precipice of overtime, they needed to utilize their defense in the final moments to keep the Scarlet Knights from going 94 feet to the basket. As the clock expired, Rutgers' Dylan Harper converted a game-winning three as time expired, giving the Scarlet Knights a 66-63 victory.

News & Notes

This is the 75^th meeting ever between the two New Jersey universities.
The Garden State Hardwood Classic has been decided by six or fewer points in 23 of the last 30 meetings.
With the loss, the Pirates now hold a 42-33 lead in the all-time head-to-head against Rutgers.
This was the 10^th installment of the Garden State Hardwood Classic.
- The Hall now holds a 6-4 record since the creation of the trophy.
Seton Hall out-rebounded Rutgers 31-to-30.
The Pirates had 36 paint points to the Scarlet Knights' 24.
The Hall snatched 11 steals to Rutgers' four.
The Pirates logged four blocks to the Scarlet Knights' one.
Emmanuel Okorafor recorded a career-high 10 rebounds.
With 15 points, Isaiah Coleman registered his fifth double-digit point game this season.
Coleman matched his season and career high with four steals.
With 10 points on Saturday, Toumi now has 760 career points.

Up Next
The Pirates return to action on Tuesday, December 17, at 7:30 p.m. when they open BIG EAST play on the road when The Hall travel to Villanova, Pennsylvania, to take on Villanova. The game will be broadcast on Peacock.